Disability sport has come a long way in recent years, allowing athletes with severe  impairments, including cerebral palsy, to participate in a major event.

Brazil powered to the top of the Pan American Games medal table Tuesday after winning six of the 13 swimming gold medals and seven of the 20 athletics gongs.

MEDAL TABLE

Mexico leads the swimming medals table at the Parapan American Games after a bountiful second day, when the host nation picked up five gold medals in the pool.

MEDAL TABLE

Click HERE to see photo gallery from the Parapan American Games.

The United States tops the medal table with four golds and two silvers after day one of the Guadalajara 2011 Parapan American Games, while Brazil follows close behind with four golds and four bronzes.

GUADALAJARA - Athletes from 24 nations plus a crowd of 5,000 enjoyed music, dance and fireworks as the 2011 Parapan American Games opened Saturday night at the Telmex Athletics Stadium.

Session times have been announced for the Parapan American Games, which begin this weekend. All 13 sports take place in the Guadalajara metropolitan zone. Tickets are available at Expo Guadalajara, at www.ticketmaster.com.mx or (33) 3818-3800, and at the ticket booths outside each venue.

The torch for the Parapan American Games will make its way through Guadalajara on Thursday and Friday, ahead of the international sporting event, which kicks off this weekend.

Jocotepec threw a special celebration Saturday, November 5 in honor of native son Tito Bautista, who will play on Mexico’s wheelchair tennis team in the upcoming Parapan American Games.

Three members of the United States’ Parapan Games athletics team all served their country in Iraq, and all three suffered severe, permanent injuries.